YMMV / Jaco the Galactic Patrolman

• Broken Base:
  • Goku's origin story. With the revelation of Dragon Ball Minus, fans are very divided on the official background of Goku provided by Akira Toriyama himself. Some fans were happy that the Saiyan race was explored further with Bardock and his wife Gine, adding a new (and arguably more tragic) dimension to Goku's early childhood and raises the question if it was just Goku hitting his head that made him who he is or is it more a mix of his mother's kind heart and Gohan raising him. However, some fans were unhappy that the chapter retcons a majority of what occurs in the TV special Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, and the fact that the story of the manga strongly resembles the origin story of Superman, which some Dragon Ball fans hate any comparison to.
  • The Power of Bardock: Due to Toriyama's statements, Bardock's canon version is not strong enough to be considered a middle class warrior, implying that he is much weaker than Nappa. Some fans complain that this is a flagrant example of the Adaptational Wimp, while others believed that it never made sense that a "nobody" like Bardock was nearly as powerful as King Vegeta.
• Draco in Leather Pants: People who hate the canon version of Bardock will complain that they turned him into a good person, when the reality is that he is still a heartless killer, whose only redeeming quality is his love for his family.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Despite how controversial the epilogue is, Gine has been well received by a good chunk of the fandom.
• It Was His Sled: Given Jaco's appearances in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' and Dragon Ball Super, there's pretty much nobody who doesn't know this is set in the Dragon Ball universe. It doesn't help that the only people who would really seek this manga out would be diehard fans anyway.
• Magnificent Bastard: Bardock, see this page for more information.
• Nightmare Fuel: Surprisingly enough, there's quite a bit:
  • Jaco's reason for being on Earth is that he has to fight an alien invader that will otherwise wipe out all of mankind. Worse still, Jaco admits that he could win only if the invader was a child.
    • This gets worse with The Reveal the invader is a Saiyan, as not only this means that Earth is now targeted by Frieza, but also that if Jaco had been successful Goku wouldn't have been there to stop Pilaf from taking over the world, the Red Ribbon from running unchecked, Raditz from wiping out humanity once he came to visit, and kill Frieza. At least Pilaf wouldn't have freed King Piccolo...
  • Jaco's solution in case the Saiyan invader is an adult: a Synthetic Plague that will wipe out all of mankind... And only them, as the Saiyan would be immune. And it would still be better than letting the Saiyan rampage.
  • The gigantic space rocket falling on East City. Had Jaco not intervened, the city would have been destroyed.
• Spiritual Successor:
  • Despite being a prequel to Dragon Ball, it actually has a lot in common with Sachie-chan Good!! and Jiya, both of which were written by Toriyama and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura. Both stories feature members of the Galactic Patrol, whose emblem (if not their overall appearance) remains basically the same. The aliens from Sachie-chan also resemble the Galactic King, while their ship is of a similar design to Jaco's.
  • There's a distinct similarity to Toriyama's 1990–91 3-part series "Savings Warrior Cashman", which involved an alien getting stranded on Earth and needing to work for cash to buy gold (his ship's fuel) with. (In a minor Mythology Gag, Omori specifically josses this means of leaving the planet, noting that it wouldn't be something a Super-Elite would do.)

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